City To Spray Pesticides on Brooklyn Tonight

Starting around 8 p.m. and lasting until 6 a.m. tomorrow, the health department will spray pesticides on Green-Wood Cemetery and Prospect Park, as well as the surrounding areas, in order, it says, to control the mosquito population and stem the threat of West Nile virus. The spraying was supposed to go down last night, but was postponed because of the inclement weather. (Which provides the punchline to the unfunny joke, “What do SummerScreen and the spraying of chemical poisons have in common?”)

The synthetic pesticide, Anvil 10 + 10, “can cause a burning sensation on more sensitive areas [of the skin]” and “can cause temporary irritation, tearing, and blurred vision [in the eye],” according to the Maryland department of agriculture. Also, “excessive inhalation can cause nasal and respiratory irritation,” while “[ingestion] can cause stomach irritation, resulting in nausea, cramps and vomiting.”

Our city’s department of health recommends people in sprayed areas not leave the house—especially if you have asthma or another respiratory condition—and not run the air conditioner. Also, you shouldn’t leave anything outside (like children’s toys or clothes), and anything that might have come into contact with the pesticide should be washed with soap. Doesn’t this seem to have more downsides than up?